"From time to time we come across someone so remarkable, that it defies belief..." So begins this video. This blew my mind. Alex Honnold, 26 years old, is the world's best rock climber. He "free solos" (no ropes, no protection) mountain walls like Half-Dome in Yosemite that are 2000 feet tall. (That's close to a 1/2 a mile in height.) If you fall, you are dead -- no two ways about it. Alex travels around in a van so he can climb when he feels like it. His lifestyle costs him about $1,000 a month. (He's got a North Face sponsorship to help pay the bills.) This guy is amazing.

I just got back from Yosemite and took photos of "Half Dome," a mountain I've now seen up close. It does defy belief that someone could climb this without a partner or any form of protection. For more about Alex, watch the movie "Alone on the Wall". Here's a promo vid for the movie: http://vimeo.com/11687754

I saw him on tv, I think it was 60 minutes or a similar type of show. It made me feel nervous just watching him climb! Incredible? Yes... Crazy? Maybe... But one of the most brave things I've seen! :)﻿

I too have been an Alex follower for a while now. Amazing stuff.However, for some reason this video of a worker climbing a 1768ft transmission tower makes me queasier! Krikey!!Thats Called Free Climbing on Tower﻿

He is a phenomenal climber. It must be hugely freeing and mentally focusing to climb without ropes. When I was younger I happily lost hours bouldering, focusing only on the next move, which gives a tiny insight into what it may feel like. Despite doing many silly things at height in my time though, climbing shear rock walls, solo and without protection, never realistically occurred to me. I was never talented enough to pull it off though.﻿

Respect to anyone who's got the guts to even think about that, and he's obviously an incredibly strong climber, BUT...

...try free soloing the north face of the Eiger or the SW face of the Torre; foul weather kills more people on mountains than falls (I think).

Please understand I'm not dissing him in ANY way; simply remarking that "the best rock climber in the world" is too wide a statement: climbing in a t-shirt and shorts is in a lot of way a speed race: not only no ropes nor bolts, but also no water or food or clothing to carry.

If water's such a problem, how do you deal with ice, sleet or snow without appropriate protection ? There are many mountains where a speed race is just not possible and where therefore his awesome climbing style would just not be possible.

So he's likely to be the "best free soloist in the world". Which is an awesome, incredible feat.

Watch Werner Herzog' "Scream of Stone" for a movie around the same debate filmed around the Torre - awesome scenes and photography.﻿

He's a damn good climber and a hell of a lot better than me but "the best"? He is one of the best at his style of climbing but there are many different facets to climbing and he doesn't push the limits in all of them. Respect and kudos to the guy but tellingly he would never describe himself as the best so none of us should either. To write in this hyperbolic way just unnecessarily discredits his real achievements in the eyes of other climbers.﻿

+Philip Rowney I know the disclaimers sound cheesy, but I want to be real clear that I have a ton of respect for Honnold. However, Rheinhlod Messner is currently reputed to be the best living climber having summited ALL 8,000 without oxygen AND having soloed without oxygen mt. Everest. That's like several days above 5,000 meters (15,000 feet) in weather than can move from sunny to -15 °C or below in minutes, carrying all survival equipment and supplies. He misses, he may not fall, but death is just as certain.

Comparing those exceptional climbers to another exceptional climber like Honnold is useless (except for fanbois), but there is no question that very few of these ascents could enjoy the same mediatic coverage as Honnold, again mostly due to the unique atmospheric conditions of places like the Yosemite Valley peaks.﻿

That's not remarkable, it's stupid. There's no reason not to use fall protection, other than to meet your maker sooner than scheduled. I'm impressed by the climbing ability, but would be more impressed if he was responsible about his life and the example he sets.

I once was talking to an old, crusty and very experienced electrician. I had a question about something I was wiring in my house. Trying to impress him with my novice skills, I proudly told him how I changed a light switch without shutting off the power, because, I'm safe. I understand what I'm dealing with. I know how to be careful and not get shocked. His eyes turned to slits as he looked me straight on and called me a "F'n idiot". He wasn't impressed with my cavalier attitude. He went on to tell me that more people die every year from an unintended experience with 120 volts than with higher voltages. I'll never forget his disgust. I now always kill the power at the breaker. I'll never know, but his words may someday save my life. Thanks Tony.﻿

+Robert Le Blah+Alex Zhavnerchik+Tzafrir Rehan As long as he only risks HIS life and doesn't endanger other people, why don't you just let him do what he wants? If he falls, nominate him for Darwin Award, and forget him.﻿

+Robert Le Blah Or, to get the international exposure to improve your market presence. Or, to work as a highly paid stuntman for directors that want an increased realism in their movies. Or to gain the increased adrenaline rush from such a risky endeavor.

He's not endangering anyone other than himself. While I would never do such a thing, I think he's perfectly justified living his life exactly as he sees fit.﻿

+Michael Edwards+Sebastian Baboo I didn't say he should be prevented from doing it. I'm calling him, in the words of the electrician, a F'n idiot. It could be said that he IS hurting other thrill seekers by setting an unsafe example. I'd rather see someone with his talent convey that it's "cool" to be safe and value your life. Not cool to exploit your life for attention.﻿

+Ferdowsy Qureshi - You can't even compare the two styles of climbing, so no, the Indian Monkey King is not "better." And you're blanket characterization of Honnold as a depressed nihilistic adrenaline junkie is completely off target. You might be pleasantly surprised to learn that he is basically the opposite of what you described.﻿

Saw this too... amazing! We honor "motivational, inspirational and patriotic Americans" and may be doing a show along these lines. Would love your help with stories like this one and others. www.AmericanMotivationAwards.com﻿

While I'm in awe of free solo climbers, and respect their right to do it, I also find it to be selfish, as a lifestyle. Take the well-known case of John Bachar, who had a 13-yr old son: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bachar﻿

There's a fine line between brave and stupid and I think Alex crossed over. Alex theorized that he might be so involved in what he is doing that he can't objectively see its inherent danger. I believe that is exactly the case.﻿

There is almost climbing or mountaineering that's not inherently dangerous, including climbing with a rope. This debate will never end, most likely. For a sober take from someone with some actual authority, I would suggest reading John Long's intro book http://www.amazon.com/How-Rock-Climb-4th/dp/0762724714 and read his take on soloing & safety. Read his re-telling stories of Derek Hersey and Tobin Sorenson.

To put it succinctly, most people should not free solo, and no one is saying otherwise, but there is no one standard of risk that applies to all situations. There are some people who shouldn't drive or even leave the house. But you are most likely not in a position to judge them.﻿

Also, I fear, foolhardy. It's not possible to keep doing that without making a mistake sometime.This young man's days are numbered.

I get a queasy stomach looking at my stomach from my easy chair.I can watch such things only for a few minutes, and only when I know for a factthat I am not about to witness the almost certain falling of someone to his death.﻿

+Bill West - I'll agree with you to the extent that I can't fully comprehend another person's experience. It must feel amazing, to compel someone to take such risks. But I can't help having an opinion - I'd keep it to myself, but I choose to express it is because I dislike the glorification of free soloing, i.e. dubbing him "the world's best rock climber." As if he is doing something we should aspire to, the purest expression of climbing or some such nonsense. It may not be Alex's intent to promote this view, but it happens.﻿

it's interesting how he says in the video that he doesn't get an adrenaline rush. not surprising, since the slightest bit of fear would most certainly cause anyone to crumble. thanks for sharing such a fascinating video, +Tom Anderson . maybe +Scott Jarvie will do some free-soloing next time :)﻿

You can say that this type of climbing isn't sustainable, but nothing is--even life. Incredibly talented kid with a laser-focused passion. He's probably more alive in an hour and a half than most people will ever be given 70+ years.﻿

I don't understand how climbing rocks without safety gear makes someone an amazing person. At the end of the day, he climbed a rock, I am not saying that it isn't hard or dangerous (obviously it is), but it doesn't make you an amazing person.﻿

i seen this this guy has a death wish its so crazy what he doe's . i cant understand who any one could put there family through this its only a matter of time and they will get a call sorry but but he didnt live through the fall may god be with﻿

+Robert Le Blah That's a weak argument. 'Setting a bad example' isn't a justification for someone else doing something stupid. If he said something like, "This is not risky or dangerous", then perhaps. But anyone that uses another person's actions as an excuse to take similar action still has the mentality of child. "But, Mom, Bobby gets to ride his dirt bike without a helmet!"

We are each responsible for our own actions. He is not harming anyone in any way.﻿

+Hope Ewusi You criticize this person for having too much time on his hands, and then share your 'poetry', which is one of the most classic example of having too much free time? Thanks, I needed my daily dose of irony today.﻿

-------His mother worries too, but she trusts her son’s judgment. “He’s the only one who can decide to do it or not,” she says. “I would never tell him not to. It would be like telling a concert pianist, ‘You know, that’s bad for your fingers. You’ll end up with arthritis.’”-------﻿

OMFG. +Tom Anderson... now I have sweaty palms, feel short of breath and I'm dizzy. So I've either got the flu or I should NEVER, EVER climb anything besides my stairs. I'm leaning toward the latter. Oooohhh SH** thud.﻿

Obviously you need to climb something that has an alternate path down. Can't imagine he has to climb back down after that amazing effort. I was in awe but couldn't help think about the risk and what drives him to do it - there's no adrenaline rush right? So what is it?﻿

Truly amazing! I admire his ability to do this. However, he looks to be the same age as my son and as a Mother all I can say is I hope he loses the love for climbing soon. I get why he does it, but it's like holding your breath watching every climb he makes wondering if it could be his last.﻿

I saw this on 60 Minutes the other night. You may disagree with me, but I think he's an idiot. If he were to die from falling off of a cliff, it would be considered suicide. I thought it was the saddest thing when they showed him training a bunch of kids to do what he does... He's teaching kids how to make suicide justifiable.﻿

+Tim Jutras no, if he fell off of a cliff it would be considered an accident...he clearly does not want to die. yes, what he is doing is extremely risky...but he is not suicidal. if anything, he has the opposite "problem"...living life fuller than any of us dare to.﻿

Amazing! Just watching how steep that is makes me dizzy. Can't believe he's so relaxed he even whistles while climbing. Truly insane =) Thanks for sharing. Good call on the Viagra catch +Karen Hutton, those are the small details that make it all come together :)﻿

+Tom Anderson I added you to the ecoviso circle on Google+ because I'm on an iPad, and because you didn't put your contact info in your profile, I'm sending this to you through our stream. Hope you get it.﻿

+Robt.D. McKenzie I'm a construction management project manager (don't hate!). I'd say at 35' you have a pretty good chance of dying! In the work place, as I'm sure you know, OSHA requires fall protection at 10' I believe. The company I worked for mandated it if your feet were 6' above the ground. I thought that was a bit much when it was implemented, but there were enough statistics showing that many people are permanently debilitated from such short falls. Human aspect aside, the lawsuits and claims that follow hurt the bottom line enough to matter.

So who does this hurt, other than the show off doing it? How about his family (whether they accept his thrill seeking or not), and friends and even the spectators. And then there are all the people from children to adults that don't take safety seriously, thinking they are being cool like this bone head. And life long medical bills that society will pay if someone cripples themselves (when it could have been prevented).

He is inadvertently in a position to save others lives by setting a good example. I'll be the first to say that no one is obligated to set good examples, but that would earn my respect - being blatantly cavalier with your life doesn't. His climbing prowess would be no less impressive if he had fall protection.﻿